wwedivasfandomcom-20200223-history
Molly Holly
)|birth_place = Forest Lake, Minnesota|death_date = |death_place = |resides = White Bear Lake, Minnesota|billed = Forest Lake, Minnesota|trainer = Dean Malenko Dudley Dudley Dave Finlay|debut = November 6, 2000|released = April 12, 2005}} Nora Kristina Benshoof (née Greenwald) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment from 2000 to 2005 under the ring name Molly Holly. Biography Though she is best remembered for getting her head shaved at WrestleMania XX, there was a lot more to former WWE Women's Champion Molly Holly than that very public haircut. Trained by the "Man of 1,000 Holds," Dean Malenko, Molly debuted in 1997 but first garnered national attention in 2000 as Miss Madness, one of Randy "Macho Man" Savage's valets in WCW. But after her run in WCW ended, Nora Greenwald was reborn in WWE as Molly Holly, the cousin of the late Crash Holly and Hardcore Holly, and she became a star. Molly would help Crash and Hardcore in battles against Test & Albert (who were then managed by Trish Stratus, who was just beginning her career in WWE) and against the Dudley Boyz. After a brief relationship with Spike Dudley, Molly aligned herself with The Hurricane (known today as Gregory Helms), adopting the moniker "Mighty Molly." The duo entertained our fans as WWE's resident superheroes, with Molly acting as Hurricane's trusty, yet beautiful, sidekick. But Mighty Molly would grow tired of being in Hurricane's shadow and yearn for gold and her own identity. This became evident when she outsmarted him and was one of several Superstars who won -- and lost -- the Hardcore Championship in a whirlwind series of bouts at WrestleMania X8. Soon afterward, Molly retired her superhero persona, stopped dyeing her hair blond and showed the world that she was a no-nonsense, yet uptight, Superstar. She defeated Trish Status for her first Women's Championship at the 2002 King of the Ring. During her two championship reigns between 2002 and early 2004, Molly took on all comers, from Stratus to Lita to Gail Kim and finally Victoria, who ended her last title run. Victoria was responsible for the most embarrassing moment in Molly's career when she defeated her in a Hair vs. Title Match at WrestleMania XX. It was unheard of for a Diva to participate in a Hair vs. Title Match, especially on the grandest stage of them all. Fans howled and Molly shrieked when Victoria shaved a restrained Molly bald. A mortified Molly walked around WWE for months trying to hide her shaven chrome with various wigs. Molly was never quite the same after her humiliation at WrestleMania. She failed to regain the Women's Championship during several opportunities and lost a series of matches to the less experienced -- and less skilled -- Stacy Kiebler. Molly left WWE and her full-time in-ring career in April 2005. Since her departure, Molly has made occasional appearances on pro wrestling's independent circuit. But she has devoted much of her time to doing missionary work for her church. Molly has spent several months studying Spanish in Guatemala, where she had a chance to be reunited with old friends when WWE passed through during its tour of Latin America in March. When asked whether she would return to sports-entertainment, Molly said, "Right now, I have no plans to return to wrestling, but you never say never in this business." So, Nora Greenwald has found a new passion and calling beyond the walls of WWE. Even if she never returns to a WWE ring, our fans will always admire Molly Holly for her abilities and her guts. - WWE.com Other media Holly has appeared in seven WWE video games. She made her in-game debut at WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It and appears in WWF Raw, WWE WrestleMania X8, WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, WWE Raw 2, WWE Day of Reckoning and WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw. Personal life In 2002, Greenwald competed on a special edition of Fear Factor, where she was eliminated in the second round. She won $10,000 for Prison Fellowship Ministries. In August 2005, she released an autobiographical DVD entitled "Nora Greenwald: Shootin' the Shi Crap" that detailed the reasons behind her departure. A portion of the profits from the sale of the DVD went to the education fund of the daughter of Mike Lockwood, her onetime on-screen cousin, after his death. After leaving the wrestling business, Greenwald has made sporadic wrestling appearances, acts as a landlady with regards to her property holdings, invests in real estate, and performs charity work. On December 16, 2006, Nora went to Guatemala for several months to learn Spanish and do missions work. In addition, she took public speaking classes and earned a license in massage therapy. Greenwald now works for Minnesota Teen Challenge, a one-year residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. She joined the program because at least ten of her friends have died because of drug overdoses. Greenwald, a born again Christian, ministers to the women in the program. In January 2009, Greenwald participated in The Polar Bear Plunge, where she voluntarily submerged herself in freezing water to raise money for the Special Olympics Minnesota. She has also been a bus aide for special needs children and worked with recovering addicts at Teen Challenge. In July 2010, she announced her engagement to Geno Benshoof, whom she met while working as a teen counselor. The couple were married in the backyard of Benshoof's parents house in White Bear Lake, Minnesota on July 22, 2010. Nora is currently the female lead coach at The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling, a training facility led by fellow WWE alumni Shawn Daivari and Ken Anderson. Legacy Holly was honored in a sign of respect by wrestler Beth Phoenix on March 31, 2017, during the latter's Hall of Fame induction, in which Phoenix noted that Holly put her in touch with Nick Dinsmore and Danny Davis, who helped to train her. Phoenix also mentioned that Holly had quietly paid her tuition so that she could chase her dreams. She then noted that the strong women are the ones who build each other up instead of tearing each other down, and that Holly was such a woman. Championships and accomplishments * World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment ** WWE Women's Championship (2 times) ** WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time) Category:WWE Alumni Category:2000 Debuts Category:2005 Departures Category:Wrestlers Category:American Divas Category:Attitude Era Category:Ruthless Aggression Era Category:Managers/Valets Category:WWE Women's Champions Category:WWE Hardcore Champions